


Three Times She Said No, One Time She Said Yes

by satanfish (mjindra9)



Series: Songs of Innocence and Experience [3]
Category: Spooks | MI-5
Genre: F/M, but i have plans for the songs universe... eventual plans but plans all the same!, mostly because i haven't actually put much up in my songs universe, set in my songs universe but can be read independently of pretty much anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 01:36:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12948492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjindra9/pseuds/satanfish
Summary: Exactly what it says on the title. Three times Elizabeta said no and one time Elizabeta said yes. Pre-Spooks.





	Three Times She Said No, One Time She Said Yes

Lucas pulled Elizabeta onto his lap as they kissed. She straddled his hips and could feel him starting to harden beneath her. Elizabeta shivered. She’d never had sex before and, as exhilarating as it was feeling Lucas’ hands skate down her sides before slipping under her shirt, she felt… _terrified_. She could still remember her mother sitting her down when she had been old enough to start being interested in boys and telling her that there was nothing wrong with wanting to keep her virginity until she was married and that any man worth having would respect that. Even though her mother was back in Russia, Elizabeta thought she could feel the weight of her mother’s disappointment that her daughter, her darling daughter, was about to have sex out of wedlock.

Still, for a moment, Elizabeta let herself float in the confidence of Lucas’ kisses. He was trailing wet kisses down her jaw, her neck, and his hands were brushing the undersides of her breasts. As soon as his hands touched her breasts, she froze, not sure what to do or what to say. _I don’t want this, please stop, please, I need to think_. “ _Wait_ ,” Elizabeta gasped as her hands gripped his biceps.

Lucas paused. His hands withdrew from under her shirt and he leaned back. His eyes were dilated with lust, but he didn’t move. _He’s waiting_ , she realized and felt her face flush. “What’s wrong?” he asked gently, taking her hands.

“I don’t… I…” she stammered. She looked away, and, for a moment, felt pressure both from her mother, wanting her to stay virginal until she married, and pressure from the expectation that she give Lucas sex. _I can’t. I **can’t**_. If Lucas couldn’t accept that… well, then she would know and she could move on to find a man that _would_ accept that. “I want…. I want to wait. I’m sorry,” she said, still not looking at him. She knew she shouldn’t feel guilty, she _shouldn’t_ , and yet she couldn’t help but feel like she was letting Lucas down. It was stupid, she _knew_ it was stupid, feeling like that. Still, she felt tears starting to form.

“Hey,” Lucas said softly. “Look at me, Vyeta.” She looked at him, afraid of what she would see. Disappointment? Anger? Was he going to try to persuade her to give something she wasn’t ready to give? She already felt bad, the last thing she needed was Lucas making her feel worse. “It’s okay,” he said. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I should have asked first, sorry. If you’re not ready, then we’re not going to do anything.”

Elizabeta flushed. “I’m sorry,” she said. She freed a hand from Lucas’ grip and ran it through her hair. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Lucas said. He smiled at her and gently brushed his fingers down her cheek. “I didn’t ask you out because I wanted to have sex. I asked you out because I think you’re funny and smart and you are deceptively devious. Oh, and I guess you’re kind of cute too, but mostly it was your personality. Mostly.” Elizabeta swatted his arm and Lucas laughed. He ran his hands down her arms. “Whatever this is, wherever it goes… it’s not contingent on us having sex. If you’re not comfortable with having sex, then we’re not doing it. Simple as that.”

She nodded slowly, feeling the tension drain out of her. She kissed Lucas lightly and was relieved that he kept it tame. “Thank you,” she said and climbed off his lap to curl against his side. Lucas draped an arm over her shoulder and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Even as she closed her eyes, she repeated, “Thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” Lucas said, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Feel up to ordering a pizza and watching a movie?”

Elizabeta laughed. “That’d be nice.”

\--

Elizabeta sat at the table with what she was dubbing the Paper Mountain Range taking over any available surface space. There was barely enough space for her to pull the next paper off the closest stack and begin marking it. As she deftly avoided paper cuts and crying into the papers, she gritted her teeth and reminded herself this job as a teacher’s assistant was just a temporary thing until she could find work as a full time teacher. The thought was warming, at the very least. She’d still have papers to mark, but at least it’d be at _her_ pace, rather than being… _gifted_ … with three classes’ worth of papers to mark all at once.

She had no idea how she was going to get through all these papers by the end of the week. When the door opened behind her, Elizabeta started and looked at her watch. _Shit!_ It was after 6 and, while Lucas was late getting home, she had been so wrapped up in marking that she had lost track of time and forgotten that they were supposed to go out tonight. _Shit, shit, shit!_ Elizabeta bit her lower lip and gave the Paper Mountain Range a misgiving look. She didn’t _want_ to spend the night marking… but she also couldn’t see how she was going to get everything marked in time.

Behind her, she heard the clink of metal against glass as Lucas threw his keys into the dish by the door. Elizabeta turned in her chair in time to see Lucas make a beeline for the freezer. He was scowling and rubbing his jaw gingerly. When he opened the freezer and grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables, Elizabeta could see an impressive bruise starting to form.

“What happened?” Elizabeta asked, scrambling to her feet as Lucas pressed the bag against his jaw.

“Got in a fight at work,” Lucas grunted.

Elizabeta gently took the frozen vegetables from him and moved it away from his jaw. Gingerly, she tilted his head to the side, probing the area gently to make sure nothing was broken. Lucas hissed and his hand shot up to grab hers, only to stop in midair. She eased up when she couldn’t feel anything out of the normal, beyond a large bump. “Did you win, at least?” she asked sceptically.

“Should see the other guy,” Lucas confirmed.

She handed him the vegetables again with a look. Lucas took them with a grin, followed by a wince, and pressed the bag to his face again. Only her boyfriend would make quips about getting punched in the face. Shaking her head, she moved back to the table and the great Paper Mountain Range.

“I’m guessing date night is a no-go tonight?” Lucas asked, looking at the table.

Elizabeta snorted. “You _really_ want to go out, still, when you’re making out with frozen vegetables?”

“Figured I’d ask before I go die on the couch.”

She sighed. She wanted to go out. Hell, even staying in and watching a movie or something with Lucas would be preferable to marking. Her eyes were swimming just _thinking_ of reading another paper. Still, she had to get these done by the end of the week and, at this rate, she’d never finish. “Sorry. Tammy gave me three classes’ worth of papers to mark by the end of the week.”

Lucas gave her a thumbs up gesture and sprawled on the couch. “I’ll be here, making out with this rather lovely bag of frozen,” Lucas paused to look at the bag of vegetables, “corn if you need anything,” he said.

Without another word, Elizabeta picked up her pen and started going over the next paper. It was going to be a _long_ week.

\--

“I need to go to work,” Lucas murmured, his fingers carding through her hair.

Elizabeta was comfortably draped over Lucas, her head resting on his chest. She was feeling rather languid, with the comforter cocooned around her and Lucas being a rather warm, if somewhat unwilling, pillow. Today was her day off and she planned to make the most of it by spending the day wonderfully lazy. She wasn’t even sure she’d get out of bed, which, of course, meant that Lucas was simply going to have to take a day off for a change. She couldn’t remember the last time he took a day off. Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time _she_ took a day off.

“I’m not moving,” she declared and flung an arm across his waist to emphasize her point.

“My boss will get mad,” Lucas protested.

“Let him. Tell him you’re sick.”

“I don’t think he’ll believe me.”

“Fine, tell him _I’m_ sick and need you to stay home and comfort me.”

Lucas laughed. She could feel his chest vibrate with the sound, which only reinforced her plan to _not move_ and to not let Lucas move either. “I’m pretty certain he won’t believe that either.”

It wasn’t often they got to have these types of lazy days. Elizabeta worked weekdays, and Lucas worked… well, he was always working, she thought. Even when he was home, he was always on call and his pager went off at the strangest times. While Elizabeta didn’t know much about private security, she still found it odd how often his pager went off and how frequently Lucas had to go into work. Lucas told her it was because he was the supervisor, so he had to be available, but it still frustrated her. Days like this one, where it was quiet and comfortable, and where there wasn’t any frown lines forming on either of their faces, were rare. Elizabeta wanted this one to last as long as it could.

Elizabeta snuggled closer to Lucas, pressing herself tightly against his body. He was warm, even if he always protested that he was cold. Lucas ran his fingers through her hair, down to her shoulder, where he stroked the skin around the strap of her tank top. “I’m pretty certain work will fall to pieces if I’m not there,” Lucas said.

While Elizabeta’s English had greatly improved since she moved to London, she still found it difficult to tell, sometimes, when Lucas was joking. She was pretty certain this was one of those times where he was being sarcastic, but there were times where she thought he was joking when he was being serious and vice versa. He had made an effort to make it more clear when he was being sarcastic, but every now and then, he’d slip and forget. “Are you joking?” Elizabeta asked.

“Mostly,” Lucas confirmed, shifting to kiss the top of her head. “Sorry, forgot.”

Elizabeta hummed, but didn’t move. “I’m still not moving.”

As if on cue, Lucas’ phone started to ring. He sighed and twisted to grab it from the bedside table. Elizabeta made a noise of displeasure as he shifted. “Harry,” Lucas said. While she’d never met Harry, she and Lucas had been dating long enough that she knew he was Lucas’ boss. Unlike her, Lucas didn’t talk very much about his coworkers. He had introduced her to Tom a few times, and Elizabeta liked him well enough, but she had a hard time sharing Lucas’ reverence for a man that she’d never met. If Harry wouldn’t give Lucas a day off, she’d simply have to take things into her own hands.

Lucas was silent for a moment. “Erm, I’m… otherwise occupied today. Can Tom handle it?” Another moment of silence. “Yes, I’m serious.”

Elizabeta reached up and took the phone from Lucas. “ – serious situation, you need –” the mysterious Harry was saying before Elizabeta cut him off, “I’m sick. Lucas is staying home to look after me.” With that, she hung up and tossed the phone at the door.

Lucas stared at her. Neither of them spoke and Elizabeta resumed her previous comfortable position. Finally, Lucas said, “I love you, but Harry’s gonna kill me.”

“Well, he can kill you tomorrow, because I’m using you as a pillow today.” She had just finished saying her piece when Lucas’ phone started to ring. Elizabeta looked up at Lucas, resting her chin against his chest. “If you answer that phone, _I’ll_ kill you.”

Lucas looked over at the phone. “There are worse ways to go,” he mused.

Without looking away from Lucas, Elizabeta reached up, picked up a pillow and thumped him with it.

\--

Elizabeta pushed her hair out of her face as she balanced the laundry hamper on her hip. Lucas walked beside her, his hands in his pockets. It wasn’t _that_ long of a walk to the laundry room, but, still, Lucas had insisted on coming with her. While she had agreed to him walking down the hall with her, she drew the line when he tried to take the laundry hamper from her. She could carry it just fine, thank you very much. Eventually, she had capitulated and allowed him to carry the laundry detergent, if only because he had been pouting about not getting to carry anything. _Men_.

“You know, I can walk to the laundry room by myself,” she said. “It’s not like it’s _that_ far.”

Lucas shrugged. “That lady in apartment 708 –”

“Harriet Lockwood?”

“Yeah. She tried to set me up with her granddaughter.”

“ _What_?” Lucas and Elizabeta hadn’t exactly been announcing to the neighbours that they were dating… but they hadn’t been hiding it either. Lucas had moved into her flat six months ago, so most of the tenants on this floor knew that he was there instead of where he used to be, two floors up. “What’d you tell her?” Elizabeta asked.

“That I’m already with an adorably tiny Russian woman who can and will kick my arse if I even _think_ of seeing another woman,” Lucas said, grinning.

Elizabeta huffed. She was _not_ tiny, he was just abnormally tall and _everyone_ looked tiny next to him. Still, it mollified her to hear that Lucas had rebuffed Mrs. Lockwood’s efforts. She knew the old woman meant well, really, she did – she had once offered to introduce Elizabeta to her niece’s son, after all – but still, it irked Elizabeta to hear that she was trying to introduce Lucas to her granddaughter.

Lucas got the laundry room door for Elizabeta before following her into the room. She put the hamper on the washer with a bit more force than necessary, but she chalked it up to residual frustration with her neighbour. Really, offering to set up someone that was _already_ seeing someone else was just… infuriating. Rude.

Lucas’ arms came around her waist. “Don’t let your dad send the KGB after Mrs. Lockwood.”

“It’s _FSB_ now,” she said. She wormed out of Lucas’ embrace and started putting the laundry into the washer. “They switched almost three years ago now.”

“Be three years next April,” Lucas said.

“Exactly. _FSB_ , not _KGB_.”

“Sorry,” Lucas said. “Don’t let your dad send the _FSB_ after Mrs. Lockwood.”

Elizabeta closed the washer and turned to face Lucas. He was grinning and she scowled at him. “I’m not going to send anyone after Mrs. Lockwood.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” he teased.

Elizabeta rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. “Why do I even date you?”

Lucas’ arms came around her again. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before leaning down to whisper into her ear, “Because you love me. Because I love you. Because you’re the best thing that’s happened to me.”

She saw movement in her peripheral vision and glanced down to see Lucas holding a ring. It was a simple, beautiful ring; it had a single diamond with two sapphires flanking it. _Of course he remembered my favourite gemstone_. She wasn’t sure why she felt so surprised that he would remember something like that. And then it hit her. Elizabeta’s eyes widened and a hand came up to cover her mouth. He wasn’t… was he? She turned in his arms and looked at his face, searchingly. “Lucas?” she whispered, lowering her hand from her mouth.

“ _Marry me_ ,” he murmured in Russian.

Tears started to form. She had suspected that the proposal would be coming eventually. Really, it was only a matter of time. She had been the one to suggest they move in together and they had each talked a bit about the idea of marriage a few months ago. Both of them agreed it was something they’d consider if they found the right person. _Is Lucas the right person for me?_ She was only twenty-one. She had her whole life before her. What if Lucas wasn’t the one? What if he _was_?

“I’m not kneeling,” Lucas said and Elizabeta laughed as she brushed the tears away from her eyes. Only Lucas would think to propose to her in the _laundry room_. The significance of it was not lost on her. This had been where they had first met, what felt so long ago now. As she looked up at Lucas, it struck her that she couldn’t imagine _not_ having him in her life. She’d… grown used to having him there. He was annoying sometimes, and he frequently had to cancel their plans so that he could stay late at work, but he was loving, warm. He made her feel like, together, they could take on the world and _win_.

 _I love him_.

“Here I thought you were the romantic one,” she teased. Elizabeta stood on her toes and kissed Lucas. “Yes. _Yes_.”

**Author's Note:**

> My eternal love and thanks goes to z3ncat for letting me pick her brain, for listening to me grumble over the parts of this that weren't working for me, and for reading over this.


End file.
